On the Columbia River...

Spent part of the day at the mouth of the Hood River on the Columbia River. Lots of dead, spawned out salmon on the spit.

On the Columbia River...

Spent part of the day at the mouth of the Hood River on the Columbia River. Lots of dead, spawned out salmon on the spit.

Powers out.

At the Idaho game.

Zane's woodpecker impression.

Zane's play... He's a woodpecker.

Karsten's audition (at the dentist)

Looks like he's trying to land a role in the movie "Aliens". Gas mask at the dentist.

Serious & Silly selfies.

Speeches in Spokane

Two weeks ago both Signe and Gunnar earned blue (superior) ribbons at the Logos speech meet. Signe did part of Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech, and Gunnar recited several stanzas of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". The top Superior scores in each of the 3 categories, per class, earn the right to go up to another inter-school meet at The Oaks school in Spokane two weeks later.
Signe's score on October 30th tied with classmate Luke Hughes, but she won the coin toss to go to Spokane. Gunnar did awesome, and he got the second-highest point tally for poetry behind a boy who received perfect scorecards from the 3 judges. That meant he wasn't going to move on, but because no one in Gunnar's 3rd grade class earned a superior ribbon in the fable category, his teacher gave him the option of learning a fable and presenting it for that category at the Oaks in Spokane.

Gunnar said he was up for the challenge of memorizing and perfecting a new selection in only 2 weeks. It helped that he chose to do the same fable Signe did last year ("The Fox and the Crow"), so he was very familiar with it. He really was doing a great job practicing at home, so I was starting to believe he might pull off another blue ribbon, but he came home from Spokane with a red "excellent" ribbon today. Nick drove up as a chaperone and said Gunnar did terrific (he's a little biased, obviously), but apparently the judging was super tough with only 3 superiors given out to all of the kids in the fable category. Signe was pretty downtrodden last year when she got a red for the same reason.

This year, however, was Signe's time to shine. She really worked to improve even more over her earlier performance, and it paid off. At the awards ceremony they ask the student with the highest score from each category to perform again in front of everyone, and Signe was called up. She was very excited.

I really need to record them reciting their pieces so you can see them hard at work.

Here's a picture after they got home from Spokane late this afternoon (with the resident photobomber also in action).

A busy October 31st!!

Nick got home from his Dallas trip about midnight last night, in time to see Gunnar's "Silver Thrashers" team play in the 3rd/4th grade championship game at U of I's Kibbie Dome this afternoon. The Thrashers played Lewiston, the only team that ever beat them (twice!). First they had lost 31-0, then 31-12, and today they improved even more so that it came down to the last minute where they fell an exciting 14-13. Gunnar loved playing this season.
After Gunnar's game we attended the Fall Carnival, where Nick scared everyone with his Lucha Libre mask, and I did my best to pretend I didn't know him. He did win honorable mention in the adult costume competition, though!! Signe's classmate Bekah Belschner joins our family picture, because she and Signe used one of Nick's old T-shirts to become the Siamese twins Britney and Whitney. They had lots of fun putting their costume together after school a couple days this week. And Karsten is an Alabama football player, probably 5 years after Gunnar first wore it for Halloween.
Next I took 4 kids trick-or-treating in the dumping rain (they didn't mind a bit), while Nick and Gunnar went to the WSU-Stanford game after the Driskills gave Nick tickets this afternoon. It is 10:40 pm and they are still there; both my big and little boy are going to be exhausted tomorrow, I think. But last I heard the Cougars were beating Pac-12 leading Stanford 22-20, so it is an exciting game to be at - rain or no rain!!

Hi Dad

This is a pic we texted to Daddy while he was gone to Dallas for a few days on a business trip. He got to briefly drive through his old stomping grounds at DTS.

Pumpkin carving

Also on Saturday, between Gunnar's game and the pancake feed, we went to the Sentz's to carve pumpkins. Bonnie drove out to Pullman to get our brother's two daughters, Sedelee and Elah, so they could join their cousins in making a big fun mess.

Busy beautiful fall on the Palouse

Friday night Nick officiated a blowout in Deary, while everyone else went to Rebekah Sensing's birthday party. The Sensings invited all the other 3rd grade families for a bonfire, hot dogs, s'mores, and a hay ride around their large property. While Daddy officiated again on Saturday we went to see Gunnar play in Kendrick, and then later returned to the Sensings for a pancake feed fundraiser. The Sensings know how to throw parties!

Fall classic.

My girl Signe N. Happy Holloway.

Pretty women in Fall.

Holloway kids in Fall foliage.

Where is Zane?

Fall in north Idaho.

Fall family pic.

Zane opening gifts on his 6th birthday a couple weeks ago.